Set Me Free
by Riverspell
Summary: Alternate storyline for New Moon – What if Jacob had been running alone when Bella met up with Laurent in the meadow? When you have nothing, will it set you free? What Edward would have found if Alice had seen Bella sooner. BPOV
1. Lure

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Text from the prologue belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Summary: Alternate storyline for New Moon – What if Jacob had been running alone when Bella met up with Laurent in the meadow? When you have nothing, will it set you free? What Edward would have found if Alice had seen Bella sooner. BPOV

Warnings: violence, assumed character death, and remember... I ship BxE

* * *

Prologue

"'Yes,' he assured me. 'I'll be very quick. You won't feel a thing, I promise. Oh, I'll lie to Victoria about that later, naturally, just to placate her. But if you knew what she had planned for you, Bella…' He shook his head with a slow movement, almost as if in disgust. 'I swear you'd be thanking me for this.'"

* * *

Chapter 1: Lure

Nothing I had ever experienced in my life could have prepared me for this. I felt my heart start to race and silently willed it to slow, knowing that Laurent could hear its every pulse. I took another small, involuntary step back, but was suddenly cut short.

"Wait!" Edward's soft, desperate voice rang out in my head, startling me yet again. I froze.

I took in Laurent's face, kicking myself again for missing the glowing red color of his irises. _Wait for what? For him to apologize and tell me he's kidding?_ I hysterically responded, but my hallucinatory Edward gave no response. Laurent's devastatingly perfect features twisted into an apologetic smile as he leaned forward into a crouch.

How could I possibly wait? If Laurent was thirsty, I had perhaps moments left to live. But there was no way that I could outrun or outwit him. I was finished. Somehow, the prospect didn't bother me as much as it should have. Jacob had abandoned me once again, and with Edward gone, who did I have left, anyway? I whimpered as the hole in my chest flared in response to his name. I was about to die, what was there left to fear? _Edward, Edward, Edward_... _I love you…_The pain was almost a comfort at this point, the only thing that I could really depend on.

In that moment, Laurent's head whipped to the side in a movement so fast that I could barely tell it had happened. The smiling face of my would-be murderer quickly contorted into outraged confusion. I followed his line of sight to the side of the meadow and at once found the source of his hesitation.

And then I knew that none of this could be real. Because suddenly, I found myself staring down another fairy-tale beast.

A monstrously large wolf had emerged from the forest, covered in thick brown fur and armored with the most ferocious, razor-sharp teeth I had ever seen. The wolf's black eyes blazed with some undeterminable emotion, and there was an almost human-like awareness in them. Was this the creature that had been causing all of the chaos in town?

In any case, the beast had captured Laurent's attention entirely.

Suddenly, a terrible snarl ripped from the creature's throat, and it launched itself in our direction.

"_Get out of there!" _Edward's velvet voice cried out inside my head. I didn't need to be told twice. My instinct to run had been tensed to spring, and I willingly let it overtake my senses. I turned and started to sprint full-tilt back into the woods, to my truck. I prayed to some higher being for two things; one, for the wolf to prefer a confrontation with Laurent, and two, for my disabling clumsiness to somehow stay out of this.

On both accounts, I was lucky. I heard a matching growl come from Laurent, behind me in the clearing. Would this beast even stand a chance against a vampire? I wasn't sure, but as I ran, thunderous collisions echoed around me, punctuated by growls and roars. I could only continue to pray that the victor in this battle would be the wolf. Meanwhile, my feet carried me onward without seeming to find anything to trip over, for which I was wholeheartedly grateful.

It felt like I'd run at least a mile or two when my body finally began to give in to exhaustion. I'd burned through all of the adrenaline and was panting, but I knew that I had to push myself further. How far had I hiked to get to the meadow? Three, four miles? I had to be getting close. From there, who knew where I would go. I began to fully comprehend the ramifications of the danger that I was in. Even if I got to the car, could I escape? Laurent could easily follow me back home, or any place I tried to hide.

These thoughts were interrupted by one final resonating echo of what sounded like a semi-truck being ripped piece from piece. Had the wolf won? For a moment, I allowed myself to relax.

My relief was cut short by a drawn-out, animalistic moan.

The wolf had been hurt.

A silence fell over the woods, and it frightened me even more than the sounds of the battle had. Even the creatures of the forest seemed to be holding their breath. The sound of my footsteps on the gravelly earth felt unbearably loud, grating against the silence. Even worse, my gasps for breath seemed to multiply in volume against the quiet atmosphere. I stopped and, stupidly, hid behind the roots of a large tree.

I began to calm myself down, attempting to even out my breathing. I felt like even the beating of my heart would give me away now. As I crouched and began to prepare for the worst, my thoughts returned to the only subject that could still hurt me now.

Edward.

_Where _is _he?_

My perpetual savior was gone, and it felt as though a great weight had been dropped onto my shoulders as I realized just how alone I really was. A hysterical sob tried to wrench its way out from deep inside of me, but I stifled it at the last minute. I couldn't, however, help the way my vision blurred up, and the irrational tears that stung at my eyes. Hadn't I been through this already? He wasn't coming back. I was alone. I was more alone than I had ever been in my whole life, in Arizona or in the dance studio with James. I had no one. My thoughts flicked to Charlie, unknowingly out fishing, and more tears spilled.

"Aww, little Bella… don't cry. We'll have plenty of time for that later." A voice that was not imaginary interrupted my moment, and my head snapped up to see a face that I had honestly not accounted for.

Undulant waves of a fire-red mane encased the perfect porcelain face that I had never expected to see again.

Victoria.


	2. Revelations

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Text from the prologue of the first chapter belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Warnings: violence, assumed character death, actual character death (of the ones you don't like, I promise!) and remember... I ship BxE

* * *

"_Aww, little Bella… don't cry. We'll have plenty of time for that later." A voice that was not imaginary interrupted my moment, and my head snapped up to see a face that I had honestly not accounted for._

_Undulant waves of a fire-red mane encased the perfect porcelain face that I had never expected to see again._

_Victoria._

* * *

Chapter 2: Revelations

The fight in the meadow suddenly became completely inconsequential. All at once, it seemed that my demise had met me head-on. Edward's voice let loose with furious, unrestrained growls.

Victoria smirked as she took in my obvious panic. Every expression on her face was childlike in its beauty, and terrifying in its intensity.

"Let's not run away now, Bella. There's nowhere to go. Your werewolves held out for quite some time, but now I will finally have my justice." I would have been totally mesmerized by her words if I hadn't gotten caught by the end.

"My _werewolves?_" I blurted out, and then covered my mouth.

"Of course, your furry little guard of mutts. You didn't honestly think that they could protect you from us for too long, did you? Once I'm finished with you, every last one of those Quileute dogs will feel my wrath for standing in my way." She continued, still smiling angelically.

My mind was reeling. _Quileute_ werewolves? What was that old legend that Jacob had told me, on that day at First Beach? It couldn't be. Vampires were one thing, but could I really be living in a world with _other _supernatural beings? As far against the grain as it went, it almost didn't seem that unlikely. It would certainly explain the missing hikers, the bear sightings, the large tracks… but could it explain why my best friend had been avoiding me?

Distracted as I was, I barely saw it coming before I found myself locked into the iron vise of Victoria's arms, tucked against her torso. Not bothering to check if I was secure, she took off running back the way I'd come, to the meadow.

The shock of her cold grip invoked memories that I'd shoved away in the most remote corner of my consciousness. In Victoria's steely arms, I couldn't help the wave of nostalgia I felt at the experience of running again. I craved the last pair of arms that had held me while traveling this way. But who knew where they were, or the vampire to whom they were attached. I had no way of contacting anyone in the Cullen family, even if I _could_ manage to escape to a telephone or computer.

As swiftly as our trip began, it ended abruptly in my not-so-peaceful meadow. Victoria flipped me upright, but did not relinquish her grip on my upper arms. Taking in the scene, it felt as though the holy grounds of my relationship with Edward had been desecrated. Several trees had been uprooted or mangled, and twisted blood-tinted paths of grass were matted into the ground.

Laurent was across the meadow, looking largely untroubled and standing over an animal the size of three horses, piled on top of each other. I gasped at the amount of blood that had spilled from the immense creature that might have been Jacob. Was it him? My would-be savior werewolf remained motionless on the ground, and I surveyed the unconscious animal carcass, searching for some kind of clue that this was my Jacob. I came up short.

"What a foul creature you've got there, Laurent. Have you hunted yet? We'll need to leave immediately, before the others find him." Victoria inquired in her singsong voice.

"I can hold off until we get to Chicago" He dismissed her, in an equally alluring tenor.

_Chicago?_ It was as though someone had taken a grater to the hole in my chest, widening it… and slicing me open. My hands flew to my chest, trying to soothe the pain away. Chicago. We were going to Edward's hometown.

Victoria laughed, and turned me around to face her. She easily read the pain and despair in my expression. "Maybe next time, you should tell your dogs not to play with vampires… they never stood a chance." She considered me for a moment. "What luck, Bella, that you stumbled into the forest this afternoon. Now I won't need to play any more games with these Quileute wolves. Laurent, let's go."

"The mutt isn't dead yet."

My heart skipped a beat. _No, please no,_ I begged silently. _Don't let it be Jacob._ The way he'd hurt me in the past few days was insignificant. Jacob was my last crutch. If he died…

Victoria had paused for a moment, listening.

"His heart is slowing down. He'll be dead soon enough. Let's get out of here before the rest of the pack catches up."

With that, we were flying again, my small body tucked up against Victoria's body. I closed my eyes, beginning to feel nausea creeping up on me. Inside my head, the growls had quieted to a more soothing monologue.

"Hold on, Bella. You must hold on." The words brought another pang of longing. Oh, if only he were here... but it was a selfish thought. Of course I wouldn't want Edward or his siblings to risk their lives on my behalf, once again. Maybe wherever he was, he was enjoying not having to babysit me and save me from all of my misadventures.

We stopped short again, having arrived at the trailhead. Parked next to my truck was an expensive-looking sports car with dark-tinted windows. As I was bodily heaved into the backseat, I caught a glimpse of a yellow post-it note stuck to the side window of my truck.

_Bella,_

_I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you. If you're reading this note, call Sam Uley. I promise that you can trust him. He'll tell you everything._

_-Jacob_

Listed under the message was a phone number, but it didn't matter. I wouldn't be able to call Sam anyway.

In that moment, my worst fears were confirmed. The colossal wolf bleeding to death in the meadow was Jacob. _My_ Jacob. Jacob was dying, because I didn't have the sense to call Jessica and go work on homework at her house, like I'd told Charlie I would. Another person I loved was being taken from me because of my inexplicable magnetism for all evil creatures. What was I thinking? Edward had told me so many times to stay out of the woods, and yet I'd still come, hoping to hear his voice for just a few moments.

_Well, I hope you're happy._ I had gotten to hear his voice more frequently than ever, and I'd paid the price for it. And so had Jacob.

A hysterical sob bubbled up from some deep, ugly place inside of me. I didn't even care. I was barely aware of the screams that came from my throat, caught up in a pain so immense that all of reality started to fade. I barely heard Victoria's voice call to Laurent as the engine purred to life.

"Laurent! Knock her out."

A marble fist connected with the side of my head, and in a brilliant flash of pain, my world disappeared completely.


	3. Bloodlust

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Text from the prologue of the first chapter belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Warnings: violence, assumed character death, actual character death (of the ones you don't like, I promise!) and remember... I ship BxE. Also, a note on this chapter… the violence didn't end with Jacob. I suppose if you've read Twilight and toughed out Breaking Dawn, you've already seen Bella suffer, but consider this your warning. Also, this chapter contains a brief cameo by an insignificant OC.

A/N: Also, on a personal note… thanks to my reviewers, and to the silent supporters who've put this story on their alerts. I'm kind of gratified/surprised that I've gotten this far without flames.

* * *

_A hysterical sob bubbled up from some deep, ugly place inside of me. I didn't even care. I was barely aware of the screams that came from my throat, caught up in a pain so immense that all of reality started to fade. I barely heard Victoria's voice call to Laurent as the engine purred to life._

"_Laurent! Knock her out."_

_A marble fist connected with the side of my head, and in a brilliant flash of pain, my world disappeared completely._

* * *

Chapter 3: Bloodlust

There were two situations that I was fervently praying for. Option one was that I would wake up and find myself at home in bed. Option two was that I wouldn't wake up.

Once again, I was down on my luck.

"Good morning, Bella" A mocking voice taunted, as if it were a joke that anything about this morning could be good.

I didn't respond, shifting around surreptitiously to figure out exactly what kind of a predicament I was in. The news wasn't good. My wrists burned from the friction of rope bindings, and my arms screamed from the uncomfortable way that they were pulled behind my back. My ankles were bound similarly, and I wondered at the necessity. Did they really expect that I would be able to escape two vampire captors? And how long did they plan on keeping me alive?

They hadn't gagged or blindfolded me, but I wasn't sure if I cared. It didn't matter.

We were still in the tinted sports car, but from what I could see, it was just closing in on dawn. I shifted again to try and get a better view, but as I twisted on my side to look out the window, I noticed a cloth bandage wrapped around a small section of my left arm.

"What…?" I puzzled out loud, staring at the bandage. I didn't recall any injuries yesterday. Had I hurt myself when I was running away? It wasn't entirely impossible.

"Oh… Laurent was thirsty." Victoria spoke to me over her shoulder, one hand barely holding the steering wheel. Apparently my expression conveyed my lack of comprehension, because she clarified with a smirk, "It was really the only way, without him losing control. I wouldn't want my fun to end prematurely…"

She held up an empty syringe.

My eyes widened, and I could feel the blood drain from my face. Of all my irrational fears, Victoria and Laurent had managed to strike upon my aversion to needles. I could feel my stomach turn, but I worked quickly to calm myself down. Throwing up on the backseat of Victoria's car would hardly earn her mercy.

I may have won the battle with my gag reflex, but the shudders coursing through my shoulders and arms were a different story. As my full awareness finally returned to me, I recalled why I had been knocked unconscious in the first place.

_Jacob…_

I had the sense to stifle the urge to scream again, but couldn't stop the fresh tears that spilled out of my eyes. I was on my own. Jacob was dead, Edward was long gone, and I was a paper doll in the hands of two vengeful children. I buried my face in the back seat of the car and continued to cry, quietly sobbing my heart out. I had nothing left. What did I need a heart for, anyway? They could have it.

"Why are you crying, Bella? You deserve this pain. You, an insignificant mortal, should never have survived the battle with James. When Edward finds your dead, mangled body, when he finds his love ripped from his life… I wonder if he'll be able to live with himself."

So it was the death sentence, then. It surprised me how calmly I was able to acknowledge the coming of my own death. But of course, the months after Edward had left hadn't really been _living_. However, her use of the word "mangled" sent more chills down my spine, and I remembered Laurent's words about Victoria's plans for me.

I continued to sob, unresponsive to Victoria's jeers and taunts. Angered with my apparent resignation, she snapped at Laurent, "Get me another syringe!"

That was enough to jerk me out of my haze. A fresh wave of adrenaline electrified my nerves in anticipation. A cold hand roughly flipped me over to expose my un-bandaged arm, and a sharp sting alerted me to the needle piercing my skin. I flinched, trying to pull away, but Victoria's grasp was inescapable. I could feel my breaths quickening, and I began to whimper as pain flared in my arm. The only mercy was that Edward was with me again, breathing into my ear.

"Shhh, Bella. Don't give up. Stay with me. Stay alive. If not for me, then for Charlie."

Of course. Charlie, the only person left who needed me. Renee would survive, but if I died, Charlie would go back to living all alone. He would be devastated. The thoughts were ephemeral though, as I began to feel extremely weak and tired. My vision became overwhelmed with gray and black spots, and the pain in my arm crescendoed one last time. Edward's voice, even diluted from the passage of time and laced with worry, carried me tenderly into the dark.

As I came to for the second time, I rapidly became aware of several things. First, that I was no longer in a car. Second, that my arms and legs we un-bound. Third, that my stomach was unbearably hollow.

I blinked hesitantly, reluctantly adjusting to the room's fluorescent lights. Pushing myself up onto my elbows, I found myself on a gurney, in some kind of abandoned hospital…

_Oh please, no._ Had we arrived at Chicago? Was this… could it be the hospital where Edward had been treated for the Spanish Influenza? I felt a small thrill course through my body. It was stupid, really, the excitement I felt at the prospect of potentially being in the same hospital where Carlisle had found Edward. I was going to die here. And if Edward found me here… I was certain he'd find some way to blame himself.

The room _smelled_ old, as if the building had been unoccupied for quite some time. The room was long and dimly-lit, with a dozen gurneys in battered condition lined up along the wall. There were several doors, and one at the end looked like it might be a bathroom. There was a single window at the end of the hall, but it was jammed shut, and there wasn't much to see out of it besides a few other run-down buildings. Perhaps we weren't in the city. I glanced around again, looking at the room in a new light. Was there anything in here that could help me escape? To my dismay, there were no telephones or communication devices.

Not that there was anyone I could call for help. I'd half hoped that there would be a way that I could call Charlie, and hear his voice one last time…

I shifted my legs over the side of the gurney, and the piercing creak of the rusty metal made me flinch. Sliding off the edge, I braced myself as vertigo hit me worse than I'd anticipated.

In an instant I was on the floor, barely managing to protect my head from cracking against the crusty tiled floor. I shuddered to think of how much blood Victoria and Laurent had drained from my body.

Reminding myself that I was a goner anyhow, I rolled onto my hands and knees and crawled to the bathroom, pulling myself weakly along the floor. To my great surprise, the plumbing still seemed to work effectively enough. I assumed that Victoria and her vampire sensitivity to smell were probably behind that. It was a small mercy.

I found that I could walk if I held onto something, so I gripped the wall and made my way back out into the room. The room had been empty before, but to my surprise, I now had a guest who was neither vampire nor werewolf.

It was clearly a man, but he wore dark clothes and a mask over his face. _What…?_ My subconscious Edward seemed to realize his intent before I did, and he snarled fiercely. My eyes flicked down to his hands, and widened at the sight of a whip in his hand. _Not good news…_

All the adrenaline in my system couldn't help me work up the stamina to run, or attempt to escape this somehow. The man stalked forward, and before I could get two steps away, he shoved me to the ground with one large, calloused hand. This time I did not have the ability to protect myself. As my cranium connected with the floor, I had a strange sense of déjà vu, remembering the time that Edward had saved me from Tyler Crowley's van that day in the parking lot. It was a world so far away from where I was now. The man grunted as he shoved me again, turning me so that I was face-down.

Giving no warning, he started in on me with several strong lashes. The leather whip ripped through the back of my shirt, slicing into the smooth skin there. I screamed at the burning sensation, but before it could dull, he'd pulled back his arm and released the whip again. _Who on earth is this man?_

I realized dully that this was a torture that Victoria and Laurent could not inflict on me. The blood would be too much of a temptation… they wouldn't be able to draw it out. I cringed, not liking how far Victoria seemed to have thought this through. My death was clearly not going to be short and gratifying.

As Victoria's masked cohort continued, I hysterically counted the lashes as they tore at my back. _Seven, eight, nine..._ this was far beyond anything I'd had to endure before. I shuddered, and realized that my breaths were coming in sharp gasps and leaving in shuddering exhalations. The whip continued to rip into my back, and I let the fear consume me. It was so intense… blindingly so. I continued to scream, but my attacker had no mercy. My screams echoed back to me and continued to ring in the room, the only sound that I could fathom. I writhed in pain, trying to twist away from the whip, but I was so weak. Too weak. Always the weak human. My forehead pulled tight with the renewed pain in my chest.

As my vision began to fade in an out, I realized that under the sound of my screams, I could hear Edward's voice again. He was begging.

"Please, Bella… hold on! Please, please, hold on for me. Be strong, Bella! Don't let go…"

As the pain began to numb, my screams turned into sobs, wracking my already-shaking body. My face was covered in sweat and tears, and I continued to cry into the floor.

Suddenly, the lashings stopped, but only for a moment. I heard the man's voice briefly in my ear, low and repentant.

"I'm sorry, kid. She has my wife. If I can get out of here, I'll call the cops for you. I'm sorry." Desperation laced every word, and I didn't doubt his sincerity.

I nodded, far from the ability to articulate further. He was no monster, then. I could deal with the pain. It was almost as though the mental pain I'd been suffering for months had taken on a physical form. I even had the presence to pity him.

I knew that neither he nor his wife would be set free. He was as much a prisoner as I was.

He resumed the torture, and I cried anew, for this innocent man who would be sacrificed for the sake of my, and Edward's, torment at the hands of a vengeful murderess vampire.


	4. Broken

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Text from the prologue of the first chapter belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Warnings: violence, assumed character death, actual character death (of the ones you don't like, I promise!) and remember... I ship BxE. Also, a note on this chapter… the violence didn't end with Jacob. I suppose if you've read Twilight and toughed out Breaking Dawn, you've already seen Bella suffer, but consider this your warning.

_I nodded, far from the ability to articulate further. He was no monster, then. I could deal with the pain. It was almost as though the mental pain I'd been suffering for months had taken on a physical form. I even had the presence to pity him._

_I knew that neither he nor his wife would be set free. He was as much a prisoner as I was. _

_He resumed the torture, and I cried anew, for this innocent man who would be sacrificed for the sake of my, and Edward's, torment at the hands of a vengeful murderess vampire._

* * *

Chapter 4: Broken

I woke up shaking.

Finding myself curled up on my side on a gurney again, I wondered idly whether my unwilling tormentor was kind enough to move me off of the floor, or if Victoria had some ulterior motives. I noted with some surprise that there was a gag over my mouth, though my hands were still free. Though I was free to untie the cloth, my arms were too stiff to move just yet.

I couldn't tell how bad the scarring on my back was, but as I shifted my head to look, pain flared up in a dozen different places. The pinching of new scabs stung all over my back. Deciding that I didn't really want to see the extent of it, I let my neck relax again. It was probably best to at least pretend to be asleep, since it seemed that besides drawing blood from me, Victoria wanted me conscious for the pain. I hoped my acting skills could pull through for me.

Just as my eyes were fluttering shut, I caught sight of a small tray next to the hospital-bed with some bread and water on it. The sight of food made my stomach lurch, as I realized just how long it had been since I'd had anything to eat. It was enough to compel me to stay awake.

Using some hidden reserve of energy, I was able to prop myself up and, after untying the makeshift gag, began to down every last morsel. I didn't bother to check if the water looked clean or the bread untainted. If Victoria wanted to poison me, I'd be in this place a lot shorter a time than if I tried to resist through starvation.

The meager contents of my meal nearly came back to me as I noted that the color of the cloth gag matched my shirt. Matched, but for the rusted brown tinge to the edges. As I ate, I contemplated an idea that had occurred to me in my dreams.

"Alice?" I began, uncertain, and shocked to find that my voice was somewhat hoarse. "Alice… if you can hear me, or _see_ me… I need a favor from you.

"There might not be any video recording of what's been going on here, but if you can hear me now, maybe you've seen enough. But what I'm trying to say is that this whole thing… my kidnapping, the…" I couldn't finish the thought, so I amended quickly, "-everything, is all just a part of Victoria's grudge against Edward for killing James. Please, when he finds out about this, don't let him go after her and Laurent. Enough damage has been done. Maybe once she's finished with me, all of this will be over, and your family won't have to go through any more trouble on my behalf.

"And could you tell Edward-" My voice cracked as I came to the part I knew would rip my heart out, "that I love him. More than anything. Enough that I hope that he's happy somewhere, wherever you all are now. And I hope that he can find someone he _wants_-" My voice and heart seemed to break all over again as an unwanted picture of Edward with another female invaded my mind. I squeezed my eyelids shut against the image and the tears, "But that I will always love him and the memories of our time together."

Suddenly, the door to my long prison chamber flew open and before I could see anyone enter the room, Victoria was looming over my bed, furious.

"Who are you talking to!" She demanded, shrilly. "Where are they? How are you communicating with them?"

It took me a moment to regroup as I realized what she meant.

"No one. I'm not talking to anyone." It wasn't a complete lie. Who knew if Alice was even watching?

"Don't you lie to me, you impertinent little vampire-pet! There are shadier men on the streets who wouldn't need any kind of threats to hurt you in ways you can't even imagine!"

I didn't doubt the truth to her words, and I shuddered at the thought. She growled again. I blurted out a denial again, worried about setting off her temper again.

"I'm not lying. There's no way for me to reach anyone, I swear! I don't even know where the Cullens went!" I blurted out.

Victoria's eyes widened and she glared at me anew.

"You don't _know_ where they went?" Before I knew it, she had me lifted off the bed by my collar, dangerously close. I held my breath. "We found most of the Cullens easily enough, but Edward isn't with them. Where _is_ he?" She growled, emphasizing her words with a rough shake.

"_Tell her I've left!_ This won't be the revenge she'd imagined if she thinks I don't love you." I stared over Victoria's shoulder as Edward's smooth voice shook my concentration. A small part of my mind noted the way he'd said _thinks_ instead of _knows_, but stored the detail away for later.

"I don't know! They left a long time ago, and they haven't been back since. I have no idea where Edward is. He's gone. He doesn't want me anymore." I choked out, after regaining some composure. As much as I didn't care if I survived this, I knew I had to put in some effort on Charlie's behalf.

"LIAR!" Victoria shrieked, and simultaneously gripped me with her talon-like hands and threw me across the room.

I cried out in wretched pain as I crashed into another gurney, knocking it to the floor and landing crookedly over top of it. I could feel the different bars jabbing into my side as I struggled to right myself.

"If he's been gone for so long, why do you scream for him when you're asleep?" Ah, well that explained the gag and my hoarse throat. I felt more vulnerable than ever as she pried into my inner agony.

"Because… I miss him…" I was barely able to whisper as tides of pain coursed through me.

Victoria's temper seemed to recede as she considered me. "He left you here alone?" Her tone was skeptical, and almost accusing.

"Yes," I uttered, surprised that my voice didn't break again.

"He doesn't care about you." It wasn't a question. I turned my face away from her, unable to meet her auburn eyes. The truth she'd stumbled upon hurt worse than any kind of physical torment.

"Well, then. I may have to find a different way to punish Edward for what he did… but that doesn't change the fact that I still owe you for a few run-ins with _werewolves_" She spat out the last word with disgust. She opened her mouth to continue, but was cut short by the ring of a phone. Her porcelain forehead creased as she pulled out a small silver phone and answered the call. She began talking, too quickly for me to pick out individual words. I could tell as her face changed that she'd received a piece of unsavory news, for when she snapped the phone shut, she eyed me with a new level of hatred.

"_You._" She ground the word out as her shoulders tensed up. "You filthy little human girl!" She raged on, picking up the glass of water and chucking it towards me. I was barely able to duck out of the way as the force of her throw caused the cup to shatter into millions of pieces next to where my head had been. "Laurent just told me that _Carlisle, Emmett, _and _Jasper_ just got on a flight from _New York_ to _Chicago_."

Her red eyes had never looked more frightening than they did at that moment. They practically glowed as she seethed with anger. For a moment, I hysterically wondered why Alice and Edward weren't with the other three, but Victoria didn't allow me any time for my thoughts. This time, she'd picked up a chair and threw it at me. She didn't miss her target, and I swore I could hear the crack of my ribcage as the chair hit its mark. Gasping, I felt all of the wind knocked out of me, but still embraced the instinct to escape when Victoria appeared at my feet.

"It's no matter, really," she began, her face cruel and smirking, having recovered somewhat from her burst of anger. "Their flight lands in two hours, and by that time… I will have exacted every last ounce of pain from your weak little body. I'm sure it won't take long after that for Edward to find you. If he comes looking for you, that is."

And then I had no means of talking back to her, because she had wrapped one delicate hand around my ankle and crushed it. The scream ripped itself unpleasantly from the bottom of my throat, and I thrashed in her inescapable grasp.

"No… no, please, Victoria…" I sobbed, but she didn't relent.

As the hour dragged on, Victoria made good on her promise. She kicked and hit and threw me like her own sick little voodoo doll, beating me as hard as she could without spilling any blood. The only comfort I could find was in the knowledge that this had to end soon. There was a time restriction on how long she could draw this out, and soon everything, and all of my suffering, would come to an end.

"Bella, no!" Edward's voice began to shout inside my head. "Don't you dare give up!" He was roaring, seeming to sense my resignation.

_You didn't want me. I've been alone for so long_… I responded in my head, delirious.

"Bella, stop it! Bella, you must hold on! Don't let go!" He continued, and as my eyes fluttered closed, I could very nearly see the angles of his perfect face, angry and beautiful. Surely I was a few breaths away from death now. Edward's face in my mind had to be my one final gift from the world of the living as death closed in on me.

_I have nothing left._

"Bella! BELLA!" My name sounded so beautiful in his voice. It was an exquisite gift from above.

_Forgive me._

"Bella! No, Bella, no!" The agony was so perfect in his voice.

Towards the end, the scabs on my back reopened, and Victoria became more reckless with her abuse in her fury. The pain jolted me away from my vision of Edward, and I sobbed at the loss. The sensations were so overwhelming that I could barely tell if she was still tormenting me, or if it had stopped. It didn't matter. With my fresh blood seeping out of the old wounds and new, it wouldn't take long for her to lose control. I found my voice just in time to beg for death with my last breaths.

"No… no more, _please_…" I whimpered into the floor, letting my eyes close again. Let me sleep now… But strangely enough, Edward's voice answered me again, yet somehow this time I could feel the vibrations of his voice in the shell of my ear, more melodic than I'd ever remembered it before.

"No, of course not. Never again. It's over, Bella, she'll never hurt you again. I've got you. Shh, Bella…"


	5. Protector

Disclaimer: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, and all of their content and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Text from the prologue of the first chapter belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Warnings: violence, assumed character death, actual character death (of the ones you don't like, I promise!) and remember... I ship BxE. Also, I think it's probably fair to warn you of sketchy (and/or somewhat unrealistic) medical situations. I'm no doctor.

* * *

"_No… no more, please…" I whimpered into the floor, letting my eyes close again. Let me sleep now… But strangely enough, Edward's voice answered me again, yet somehow this time I could feel the vibrations of his voice in the shell of my ear, more melodic than I'd ever remembered it before._

"_No, of course not. Never again. It's over, Bella, she'll never hurt you again. I've got you. Shh, Bella…"_

_

* * *

_

Chapter 5: Protector

For a few blissful moments as I regained an increment of awareness, everything was hazy. Then the pain hit me, as a dull roar. It was everywhere. It ached. It was the proof that I had been praying against.

I was still alive. She wasn't done with me.

I tried to open my eyes, and though they felt normal, I couldn't see anything in front of me. A shock of terror rolled through me. Had Victoria blinded me?

"Bella?"

I froze. I barely had feeling in my limbs, but I didn't dare move.

I knew that voice. It meant that I was in danger, that pain was coming. So strange, how his honey-sweet voice had come to be the precursor to suffering. I felt so lethargic, as if I couldn't move away. I whimpered as I tried to move.

"Bella!" The voice called again, and I felt compelled to answer, but I couldn't. "Bella, can you hear me?" It was soft, urging me back towards consciousness.

I began to attempt to shift my weight so that I could sit up, but immediately felt ice-cold fingers trap my shoulders.

I sucked in a sharp breath and stiffened. I recognized that cold touch. The hands gently, almost apologetically pushed me back against the pillow, and one withdrew. The other hesitantly moved to grasp my own hand. I still couldn't respond. If my limbs hadn't felt so heavy, I would have been shaking. As it was, the icy touch was still sending jolts of adrenaline through my weakened body.

"Shhh, shh, Bella, it's alright now. I've got you. Here now, don't try to move. Can you hear me? Squeeze my hand if you can hear me."

Hysteria rushed back to me. Had I been drugged? That would explain how sluggish I felt, and why his voice sounded so real. I wanted so much to believe that he was here with me. For the third time, I attempted to open my eyes, and tried to move my arm out of his grasp. He wasn't real. He couldn't be. I didn't want anyone to touch me. I just wanted to get away from Victoria's torture games.

When I found that I couldn't pull my arm away, I began to breathe more rapidly. No… no more of this!

"Please… no… don't… touch me…" Though the plea was pathetic to my own ears, and barely audible, he seemed to understand. Everything still hurt, the pain was too near for this. The hand quickly pulled away – too quickly.

"Oh, Bella…" There was something that I couldn't place in the tone of his voice. I whimpered again in response, a mewl that sounded more animal than human. I was still trying to clear my head enough to see if it was really him.

The gray cloudiness finally started to clear up, and I could make out the different shapes of the room I was in. I tried to calm myself enough to embrace what my vision was trying to tell me. If I was drugged, why not enjoy the illusion?

"Breathe, Bella." How many times had he told me that? It didn't matter. I was either in some realm of death, or hallucinating. Because the face that began to materialize in my blurred line of sight was that of my angel. No longer just a voice, my Edward had somehow become 3-D.

"Ed…ward?" I rasped, my throat burning from the effort.

"Yes, I'm here." He reinforced the statement by lightly taking my hand again and softly stroking the back of my hand with his thumb. His other hand moved to rest briefly against my forehead before drifting to the side to brush away my hair. Realizing that it was only Edward touching me, I relaxed slightly into the touches.

"Vic… to… ria?" I inquired, feeling like my vocal cords were lined with sandpaper.

A low growl rumbled from Edward's chest, and I stopped breathing again. It was so _real_…

"She's dead. She'll never hurt you again, Bella."

Then I was certainly dead. Because that would mean that Edward was truly with me. Or was her death part of the hallucination?

Tears began to run from my eyes again, which I fought as hard as I could. I was being ridiculous. If I was already dead, I didn't need to cry. I needed to see Edward's face. I needed it more than oxygen and sunshine. He was my heaven, which some fate had decided that I deserved. Perhaps the gods pitied the last few days of my existence.

"Bella!" Icy fingertips wiped the tears away, and though the touch was dangerously close, I tried to draw from his strength. "Bella, calm down… you're safe now. Your safe, shhh…" He crooned melodiously into my ear.

"Is it really you?" I rasped, beginning to recognize the outline of his form. He pulled back and smiled at that, but it seemed forced, as if it were pulled across his face. It didn't matter, he was still the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

"Yes, I'm here." As my eyes finally focused, I watched as he gazed over me meaningfully, and once again brought his hand to mine. I fought the instinct to pull away again as he guided my hand up to his face to feel for myself. It seemed like it had been so long since I'd felt a sympathetic touch….

Indulgently, I let my right hand wander along the planes of his jaw line and the cheeks. My fingertips drifted up to his forehead, and his eyelids closed in pleasure. Boldly, I brought my left hand up to hold both his face in my hands, and Edward's lips curved into a smile. It reminded me of better circumstances, in a beautiful meadow….

I could only hold my arms out for so long, before the terrible ache returned. I was also somewhat chagrined to find a cast weighing down my left wrist. Reluctantly, I dropped my arms.

"Would you like some water? I can help you sit up." He offered, and I nodded gratefully.

Gingerly, Edward slipped his arms behind my back and under my legs. He seemed to be very aware of where my injuries were, because he managed to miss the worst of them as he lifted me into a sitting position. I tried not to writhe or panic as his touch inevitably caused some bruises and welts to flare up and my ribs to protest, and I still wasn't used to anything from pain from that cold touch. I started to shake from the effort, and as I hesitantly met his gaze, I saw him wince as he took in my obvious discomfort.

Dizziness rushed back to me again, but it cleared away quicker than before. He offered me a small glass, and I gratefully brought it to my lips.

From a sitting position, I was able to get a better idea of what sort of state I was in. The results of my inventory were staggering. There were bruises in the shape of handprints all the way down my arms, leading to the cast wrapped around my left wrist. My ribs were bound, and there was a large cast protruding from under the blanket around my left leg and ankle. I couldn't see anything more than that due to the blanket and the soft cotton tee that I was wearing, but I could feel the protest of stitches and more bandages all over my body. The good news, it seemed, was that I was on enough painkillers that the pain was dull, but the discomfort was still intense.

Edward was watching my assessment anxiously, but I put forth my best poker face to hide the pain. I wasn't sure if he bought it, but it wasn't something that I wanted him to worry about at the moment. There were questions to be answered.

"Where are we?" I began.

He considered me before he spoke.

"We're at one of Carlisle's older properties, in Chicago. Alice and Jasper had to filch some supplies from the nearest hospital, but you've been recovering as well as we have any right to expect." It was the most he'd spoken since I'd woken up, and I reveled in the feeling of his voice washing over me. It was something I had missed for so, so long.

"So you mean I'm alive?" I blurted out without thinking. Blushing, I bowed my head to take another sip of water. Edward's hand reached out to tilt my face back up, and his forehead was creased with concern.

"Bella… you are very much alive. How do you feel?"

I knew that he must have meant physically, but if he was really here… then I needed some answers.

"Confused." I replied, honestly. "What happened?"

For the first time, Edward's eyes flicked away from me, gazing out a window.

"We almost didn't get to you in time. You were just barely hanging on…" He drifted off, pain evident in his voice. He shook his head, and turned back towards me.

"Before that, though? How did you know?" _And where have you been? And why did you come back for me? _I silently added.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do for myself, Bella. I owe you so much. I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am that I abandoned you to fend for yourself. I truly believed that you would be safe here, protected from the evils of vampires.

"But I was wrong." He paused there, and took a deep breath. "Bella, I…"

I marveled at this. There were so few times that I had ever found Edward struggling for the right words.

"I have so much to apologize for. I left because I thought that if I left, then eventually you would fall for someone else who could grow old and have children with you, and keep you safe and happy. I underestimated how painful it would be… for both of us, it seems… to be away from each other. For every moment that I've been gone, you've been in each of my thoughts." He started to continue, but I held up my palm to cut him off.

"So when you said you didn't want me… ?" The fault-line in my chest flared at the memory dredged up by my words.

"It was a lie. How could I ever not want you?" His lips curved into a soft smile as he continued. "You are my life. I love you." He brought my cast-free wrist to his lips and pressed a kiss to my hand.

"Then before you go on… could you please… hold me?" I felt strangely flustered to have to ask, but I needed him closer. I needed his arms wrapped around me. It was painful to make myself vulnerable to him again, but if he could only come closer…

He seemed ready to object, and I could feel my heart twist in response. Yet somehow, he seemed to see something on my face that made him stop, and then nod.

"Of course. As long as you're sure…" He indicated my bandages with one hand.

I nodded, too quickly, and felt dizzy again. He smiled again, and though it wasn't my favorite crooked smile, it didn't seem to be forced. _Does he really love me?_ I didn't know if I could afford to hope that this was true, but it seemed as though I already did.

Gently helping me to scoot forward a bit, I smiled as my body began to show some of its former reaction to Edward's touch. My heart skipped a beat, and Edward's head snapped up in wonder, and he dazzled me with another genuine smile. Pulling the quilt around me, he slipped behind me and let me relax back against his chest and broad shoulders.

I still fit.

It didn't matter how many bandages I was wrapped up in, the sensation was ecstasy. Mindful of my ribs, he wrapped his long, cool arms around me and pulled me close with a sigh. I internally rejoiced again at the feeling of safety that washed over me.

Yes. Finally, I was safe again.

A/N: Just so everyone's clear, that was not the last chapter. I'm planning on at least one more chapter, possibly two if I get carried away. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to review at your leisure :) Also, my apologies for the italics issues in the first versions I uploaded. This one should be all better :)


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